Winds with gusts of up to 40 mph blow into Georgia

ATLANTA (AP) - Forecasters say strong winds with gusts of up to 40 mph are expected to continue throughout Monday across much of Georgia.

Ga. to end Medicaid payments for some early births

ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia health officials are hoping to improve care - and save money - by steering pregnant women and doctors away from some early deliveries.

Heart repair breakthroughs replace surgeon's knife

500 injured by blasts as meteor falls in Russia

MOSCOW (AP) - A meteor that scientists estimate weighed 10 tons (11 tons) streaked at supersonic speed over Russia's Ural Mountains on Friday, setting off blasts that injured some 500 people and frightened countless more.

Governor: Georgians to pay taxes on Amazon buys

ATLANTA (AP) - A spokesman for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal says Georgians who use Amazon.com will have to pay taxes on their purchases, though it's not clear when.

Southern cooking: eat it and weep

Deep-fried foods may be causing trouble in the Deep South. People whose diets are heavy on them and sugary drinks like sweet tea and soda were more likely to suffer a stroke, a new study finds.

Senate GOP blocks Hagel vote for now

WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans have, for now, blocked Chuck Hagel's nomination to become defense secretary.

Obama pushes preschool plan, won't discuss cost

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - Raising hopes among parents who want preschool for all, President Barack Obama on Thursday rolled out a plan to vastly expand government-funded early childhood while keeping the price tag a secret.

New lobbying rules would prohibit airfare expenses

ATLANTA (AP) - Newly proposed rules would ban lobbyists from buying airfare for Georgia's state officials under an amended plan released Thursday by a leading Republican.

Obama departs from Ga. after speech in Decatur

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - President Barack Obama has left Georgia after visiting an early childhood learning center and giving a speech in the Atlanta area.

Sharp fall in US jobless claims boosts outlook

WASHINGTON (AP) - The outlook for the U.S. job market is brightening after a government report showed a sharp drop in the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits.

Coast Guard: Cruise ship stopped; towline broken

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A Coast Guard official says a disabled cruise ship is stopped off the coast of Alabama because of a broken towline attached to one of the boats towing the vessel.

Pistorius' girlfriend was a model, law graduate

JOHANNESBURG (AP) - The leggy blonde model tweeted that Valentine's Day should be "a day of love for everyone." Instead Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead in the home of her boyfriend, paralympian superstar Oscar Pistorius, who was charged with her murder. Steenkamp, South African model with a law degree, campaigned against rape and violence against women. Thursday morning, Reeva Steenkamp was to give an inspirational talk at a Johannesburg school. The next day ...

Obama touches down in Georgia, heads to Decatur

MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) - President Barack Obama has arrived in Georgia and is expected to visit an early childhood learning center in the Atlanta area.

Buffett's firm dips into $23B Heinz ketchup dea

NEW YORK (AP) - Billionaire investor Warren Buffett is dipping into the ketchup business as part of $23.3 billion deal to buy the Heinz ketchup company.

Democrats to unveil bill to replace budget cuts

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama's Democratic allies in the Senate are unveiling legislation to avoid a looming set of sharp, across-the-board spending cuts set to strike the Pentagon and domestic agencies in just two weeks.

Stocks sink after reports of European slowdown

NEW YORK (AP) - Renewed worries about Europe overshadowed an encouraging U.S. jobs report, turning stocks mixed on Thursday.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby says the system is undergoing sever

HOUSTON (AP) - Carnival Cruise Lines has canceled a dozen more planned voyages aboard the Triumph and acknowledged that the crippled ship had been plagued by other mechanical problems in the weeks before it was left powerless in the Gulf of Mexico by an engine-room fire. The company's announcement on Wednesday came as the Triumph was being towed to a port in Mobile, Ala., with more than 4,000 people on board, some of whom ...